Hoyer Statement on Republicans’ Federal Employee Pay Freeze Bill

WASHINGTON, DC - House Democratic Whip Steny H. Hoyer (MD) released the following statement today in opposition to a Republican bill that would freeze federal employees’ salaries for the third consecutive year. This bill, H.R. 273, is scheduled to be considered on the House Floor next week:

“I am deeply disappointed that House Republicans once again will ask federal employees to give up their hard-earned pay because Congress cannot reach a balanced solution to deficits. Already, middle-class federal workers have contributed $103 billion toward deficit reduction through pay freezes and changes to retirement benefits – while other groups have not been asked to contribute. This is not the way to recruit and retain the top-notch federal workforce the American people deserve.

“The American people expect a serious national conversation about how to get our fiscal house in order, create millions of new jobs, and reduce the scourge of gun violence in our communities. That House Republicans want to spend the opening days of this new Congress engaged in the same short-sighted and counterproductive campaign against federal employees that we saw last Congress reflects their misguided sense of what matters most to Americans. Those who execute our laws and provide much-needed services to communities across the nation deserve our gratitude for their diligence during these hard times – not continued disparagement resulting from a partisan agenda. I call on House Republicans to stop their campaign against America’s federal employees and instead work with Democrats to achieve the deficit reduction we need through a big and balanced approach and focus on the policy issues that matter most.”